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Coal as Fuel for Barrow, Alaska: A Preliminary Study of Mining Costs.

Upon request by the Alaska Power Administration, the Alaska Field Operation Center, federal Bureau of Mines, conducted a study to examine the possible costs of providing coal to Barrow, Alaska, as an alternative energy source in the absence of future natural gas supplies. The cost of mining coal near wainwright was determined using two methods of strip mining and one method of underground mining. The costs for two mine sizes were obtained, one for 46,000 tons of coal per year if coal were used to replace the energy now supplied by natural gas, and one for 143,000 tons per year if coal were used to generate electricity at the mine site or in wainwright for transmission to barrow. The cheapest source of coal would be from an area 17 airmiles south of wainwright where overburdens of less than 20 feet are encountered. There, the coal could be mined by ripping the overburden with crawler tractors and carrying it away with scrapers for 36 cents or 55 cents per million. British thermal units, depending upon the mine size. For other coal sources closer to wainwright but under greater cover, underground methods look to be advantageous assuming no ventilation problems are encountered.